Ma Zhaoxu News

The U.S. rejected Taiwan’s request for new Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 fighters, offering to sell $5.3 billion in upgrades for existing jets in a move likely to avoid a repeat of the Chinese backlash from earlier sales.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, having called Japan his country’s closest friend in Asia, will seek this week to overcome Chinese unease about his loyalties in a region beset by territorial tensions.

Computer hackers working through Internet servers in China broke into and stole proprietary information from the networks of six U.S. and European energy companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp ., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc , according to one of the companies and investigators who declined to be identified.

Diplomatic ties between the world’s second- and third-biggest economies soured as China escalated a dispute over Japan’s extended detention of a fishing boat captain for a collision in disputed waters.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill aimed at punishing China for keeping the yuan undervalued, triggering a backlash from Chinese officials who said the measure risks damaging trade relations and undermining the global recovery.